


Night of the Lanterns

by fanfiction_trashpile



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:15:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22073134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fanfiction_trashpile/pseuds/fanfiction_trashpile
Summary: A Christmas tradition with the rebellion.
Relationships: Cassian Andor/Reader, Cassian Andor/You
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	1. ONE

Today, the ceremony. Tomorrow, the celebration.

This was not a day of victory, no. This morning, a raiding group returned to the rebel base missing two familiar faces. It was not a celebration of the fall of the Empire (though everyone said that it would be soon. You weren’t a child anyone. You’d believe it when you saw it.)

It was an occasion to celebrate survival. Perseverance.

Hope.

There were many names for it. Nocte lucerna (night candles), from Tatoonie. Christmas (Chris meaning light and tmas mourning), from one of the planets in a distant system that you couldn’t name.

Your father used to call it the Night of the Lanterns.

Despite the ongoing war, the chaos and bloodshed and death that hung over every member of the rebellion, these 4 days seemed to bring a bit of peace and light to the encampment.

You join the winding line of people headed into the bunker, where the ceremony was held every year. Your eyes naturally scan for Cassian, finding his familiar figure within moments. He moves through the crowd towards you.  
He embraces you and kisses your forehead, “You have your candle?”

“Of course.” Cassian knew the importance of the candle you held so gingerly in your hands. It had been made by your mother, days before she was shot out of the sky by an imperial ship.

Cassian tries to debrief you on your next mission but you put a finger to his lips, effectively silencing him. “Not now. We can talk about the mission later.”

“I want to leave at dawn, so I need to–”

You stand on your tiptoes and kiss him. He lifts a hand to your face, forgetting about his previous protests to kiss you back.

You pull away and open your eyes. He keeps his closed and hums appreciatively. “Even after all this time, I’m still not used to that.” He grins.

You’d been together for almost a year, but never ceased to amaze each other.

You finally step into the bunker and suck in a breath.

A tall tower had been built that nearly reached the ceiling with shelves built in. The top 4 or 5 rows had already been filled with candles, leaving only a few at the bottom remaining.

You take a candle from the person in front of you, a pilot named Lea, and light the small candle in Cassian’s hands. “May the Force be with you.” You murmur to her.

“And with you.” She replies, words and hands shaking.

Handing Lea’s candle back, you watch as she places it gently on one of the lower shelves.

“For Anna and my mother.” She whispers, going down on one knee. Lea bows her head, rises, and joins the mass surrounding the back of the candle tower. Tears slip silently down her cheeks.

You remember your last Night with your family. Your father and mother made paper lanterns out of the bark from the trees surrounding your farm house, before the entire forest was burned to the ground. Each one of you lit one, your mother and father whispering names of fallen friends while you dedicated your flame to the sick man in the village nearby. Even at your young age, you understood the importance of these lanterns. During a time of peace, they would have served as a reminder of those who could not join the celebrations that followed in the 3 days to come. The drinking, laughing, singing and celebrating served as a way to brighten spirits and rejoice at the fact that you were all still alive. Tonight, though, you remember your dead.

You and Cassian both stare at his flame for a moment before he leans it to light yours. You turn to light the candle of the man behind you.

“May the Force be with you.” The elder murmurs in a raspy tone.

“And with you.” You respond.

Cassian places his candle and kneels, “For mami, papi, Angus, Steven and Djino.” Standing, he smiles sombrely at you, the action not quite reaching his eyes.

“For mother, father, Dyan, Lexa, Liy, Tiffa and Olivia.” You wish you could name all your comrades. You wish you could name every fallen soldier who had ever fought by your side. “This is for all of them.” You whisper.

You rise and join Cassian, intertwining your fingers with his. As the last of the rebels filter in, all lighting their candles from the same flame, silence overtakes the hall.

None of the council stand to speak. Instead, the father of one of the men who were lost this morning stands, his candle still unlit.

“This is for my son-” his voice breaks, “lost to the cause this morning. This is for my husband, dead 4 years now. This is for squad B-4, of whom I am the last survivor.

“This is for every soldier who has fought for the cause. This is for every person who dares speak out against the Empire. This is for every man, woman and child who will not live to see peace in the galaxy.”

He pauses, breathing hard. He lights his candle, kneels, and places it on the last open space.

The council begins the prayer said at every ceremony. It still draws goosebumps up your arms, even after hearing it almost every year for your whole life.

“May you once again find the peace that our nation has been starved from for so long. May our love protect you as you join the Force, in turn protecting us. May you never again see the horrors of our world.

May your sacrifice never be forgotten.”

The entire room speaks in unison.

May you never be forgotten.

Silence. The entire rebellion, cramped in one room around our tower of light, standing in complete silence. This is for our fallen. We fight for them. We die for them. Our triumph will be for them.

One by one, the crowd disperses. Many leave to the bunks, while others head to the dinning hall. You and Cassian stay standing there for a moment, but finally pull away to go to sleep.

You don’t speak as you head to your shared quarters. You don’t speak as you both crawl into bed, Cassian’s arm around your waist an automatic gesture. Cassian’s breath evens out long before yours does, sleep evading you.

These are the horrors of war. Orphans. Bloodshed. Children made murders. Bodies mangled beyond recognition. Others mangled beyond repair. Paralysis. Panic. Hallucinations. Death. This is what violence does to good people. It turns them into killers, shells of the person they once were.

You remember how heartless you before you had met Cassian. He brought out in you things you had repressed for many years. Compassion. Mental strength. Self-preservation.

Love.

He brought you back.

This night, the Night of the Lanterns, is more than just remembrance. It’s recognition of our failures. It’s acceptance. It’s the power and permission to move on.

The candles are left all night under the supervision of the council, the tower not dismantled until every candle has burned out. Even after the physical light is gone, the spiritual and emotional light remains. Tomorrow will be filled with parties and laughter and joy, partial families celebrating and joining together.

But tonight, we remember.

It’s beautiful.

Your last thought before succumbing to your exhaustion:

They will never be forgotten.


	2. TWO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Years later, you remember an old tradition.

It had been years of fighting in the resistance, years of battling the forces of evil alongside Leia. Old traditions had been forgotten in the fray of the end of the Empire and the rise of the First Order, but now there was peace in the galaxy. We had won. 

Still living in the rebel camp, things around you were quiet. Many rebels had become diplomats, leading the galaxy to a new, bright future. You had stayed, not sure where to go. The rebellion was all you had ever known. 

You sat in your home, thoughts of Cassian, Jyn, Han, Luke and Leia, dancing through your head. You thought of your mother, gone in the first war, and how many you had lost in the time after. You couldn’t remember the old prayer quite right, and you weren’t sure on the day, but something compelled you to open the box of your mother’s old things. 

Digging under the bed to retrieve it with shaking, you rifle through mementos from a past life. An old photo of Cassian had your eyes stinging, and you find yourself smiling through the tears. 

You find what you are looking for, the old stub of a candle your mother had made years ago. 

A rustle at the door draws your attention and you quickly wipe the tears away from your eyes.

“General Dameron.” you stand, not fully straightened, smiling at the young man. 

“Enough of that.” he grins, reaching out an arm to help you to your bed. Poe rolls his eyes as you huff, giving him your ‘I was the best pilot in the galaxy, I don’t need your help’ speech once again. “Did you need candles?” he gestures to your hand, “Are your lights burnt out?”

“No, no.” you shake your head, “I was just thinking of an old world tradition. A way to… pay respect. To those we’ve lost.”

His eyes soften. Leaving as quickly as he came, he comes back momentarily holding a candle of his own. 

“Teach me.” he murmurs. 

With his help, you clear the small table in your room. You use a butt end of a match to light your candle, and hold your flame to his. “May the Force be with you.” 

He nods, and for a moment you see Cassian. It fades, but he seems to have seen something in your eyes. “Everything alright, Commander?” 

“Yes, yes.” you feel a hand on your shoulder but when you reach for it, you touch air. “In the olden days,” you laugh, “We would pass the flame along, saying, ‘May the Force be with you’ ‘And with you’, and then dedicating the flame to someone, or a group of people.”

“And with you.” he repeats, nodding as you speak. 

You stare at your flame, watching as it shakes with your hands. Poe places a hand on your wrist, helping you set the candle down on the table’s surface. 

“For Cassian, Leia…” your voice breaks, “For… for everyone.”

The words come to you like a dream. 

“May you once again find the peace that our nation has been starved from for so long. May our love protect you as you join the Force, in turn protecting us. May you never again see the horrors of our world.

May your sacrifice never be forgotten.

May you never be forgotten.”

For the first time in years, you feel as though you can take a full breath. You see Cassian, standing next to your mother in the doorway. 

You hear Poe’s voice calling to you but he sounds so far away. The tremor in your hands is gone, the strength returned to them. Crossing the room to Cassian, he takes you into his arms and spins you around the way he used to. 

“I missed you.” you hold his face in your hands, pressing your forehead to his. You then reach for your mother’s hand.

She smiles, the same smile you remember from when you were young, her face untouched by time. Voice soft, she squeezes your hand, “We never left.”


End file.
